Industry News
Team USA Alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin and legendary U.S. snowboarder Shaun White have made it into the top 100 athletes of the 21st century list created by cable TV sports channel ESPN. The list will cause much debate, and ESPN admits it was no easy feat, stating, “Yes, ranking the top 100 most accomplished athletes since 2000 wasn’t quite so easy after all—but it sure was fun,” on its website.
The sports channel first ranked the top 100 athletes of the 20th century 25 years ago, with Michael Jordan in first place. In contrast to the ranking from 1999, this time, more consideration was given to global sports and international athletes, resulting in a more well-rounded list.
Mikaela Shiffrin ranked in spot 44, while Shaun White came in 72nd place.
ESPN sports journalist Alyssa Roenigk explained Shiffrin’s spot with the following blurb: “Three-time Olympic medalist, two-time Olympic gold medalist, record 96 World Cup wins, 59 World Cup slalom victories (most in a single discipline). On March 11, 2023, Shiffrin chased down a record that, for 34 years, consumed the minds and careers of countless ski racers and became the winningest alpine skier in history. She won her 87th World Cup race that day, eclipsing the longstanding record held by Swedish legend Ingemar Stenmark, which many considered to be unbreakable. She did it, of course, quickly, reaching 87 wins nearly three years quicker than Stenmark and by winning at least one race in all six World Cup disciplines — the only woman or man ever to do so. But what’s most remarkable about Shiffrin’s feat is that she won 24 races and two of her five World Cup overall titles after skiing the most disappointing races of her career at the 2022 Beijing Olympics and having people question whether her best years were behind her.”
Roenigk described White’s achievements as follows: “Three-time Olympic gold medalist in halfpipe (2006, 2010, 2018), 15-time X Games medalist. White stood at the top of the halfpipe at the 2018 Olympics and prepared to take his third and final run. He was in second place behind two-time silver medalist Ayumu Hirano, who had just landed back-to-back 1440s. White knew he needed to land the combo to best Hirano, but four months earlier, he’d crashed attempting to learn a cab double cork 1440 and suffered horrific injuries that required 62 stitches in his face and landed him in intensive care. White hadn’t attempted the trick since, and he’d never landed back-to-back 14s. But in a move that embodied White’s competitive nature and the spirit of action sports, he went for the combo, rode away clean and won his third Olympic gold in the event. “Before my last run, I was like, ‘OK, I can live with second,'” White said that night. “But I realized at that moment, I didn’t have to.”
To make the list, only achievements during the 21st century were considered, not victories, trophies, or titles before the year 2000. The list was opened to public voting, and 70,000 ESPN viewers participated. Without much further ado, we will share the top 10 with you. For the full ranking, please visit ESPN’s website.
#10 Kobe Bryant (basketball)
#9 Usain Bolt (track)
#8 Tiger Woods (golf)
#7 Simone Biles (gymnastics)
#6 Roger Federer (tennis)
#5 Tom Brady (football)
#4 LeBron James (basketball)
#3 Lionel Messi (soccer)
#2 Serena Williams (tennis)
#1 Michael Phelps (swimming)
